Saturday, January 14, 2017

This
week was an adventure. Actually every week on the mission is an
adventure! Which is so great. Ah. I loove love love the mission.

But
anyways, this week every time people asked where I was from I told them
to guess. (Mostly because this week I learned how to say "guess"
haha). And wow let me tell you, some pretty funny responses. Someone
said "Lebanon." Yup. Absolutely. Nailed it! I´m from Lebanon. In case
you guys didn´t know 😂

But
let´s see, another funny story! One day we were standing in the street
next to this tree, waiting for to open the door, and Sister Ferreira
said, "did you know that we eat this here?" Pointing to the leaves. I
was like, "Definetely don´t believe you." But she went on and on and was
pretty convincing. She told me to eat one, and I said, "yeah only if
you do!!!" So we both did XD And the best part is that she was totally
kidding the whole time. So I have now eatten a leaf from Brasil. How
many people can say that?? ✌

But
WOW I have been SO tired every single day. I don´t know if it´s the
heat or what, but if yall are looking for something to pray for, please
pray that I´m not always exhausted :) thaaaanks

So
Sister Ferreira and I have been visiting this woman named Nazare. When
we met her in the street, she was super hesitant to give us her
address. But ya know, us Sister Missionaries are very convicing and we
ended up getting her contact information!

Our
first visit we taught her about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ was
Restored. Then the next visit we taught her about the Book of Mormon.
But after all this, she was offended by our messages. We were pretty
discouraged because we´d done all we could, testified with love, and
even brought a member with us! Buuut she still felt very taken aback.

So
this week we decided to return, and try something different. We decided
to pass by, see how she was doing and not teach her anything. When we
arrived she immediately ran and got the Book of Mormon and gave it back
to us (ouch), BUT we said, "oh okay.. But how are you??!!" We realized
that she was painting her house and so we enthusiastically offered to
help (because seriously i´m pretty sure it´s every missionaries dream to
help paint).

Ya´ll
it was incredible the difference it made to offer to help her! She
changed from annoyed, to super excited! (we didn´t end up helping her
paint her house, but we stained a chair!)

This
is my first time on the mission with an experience like this- it´s such
a witness to me that Heavenly Father is always looking out for His
children.

I
have faith that one day Nazare will be baptized. I dont know if it will
be when I´m still here in Fazenda, but ONE day. I know it!

I
know that as a missionary alone, I can´t do much, but as a missionary
with God´s help, miracles can happen. It´s the same for all of us! We
can choose to go through life alone, OR we can choose to go through life
with the help of our Savior and Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ are perfect, and love and know us perfectly. They will
help us perfectly, if we let them. I have seen this in my own life,
I´ve seen this on the mission, and I know it can be REAL for all of us.

Sunday, January 8, 2017

You
know what´s a crazy thought?? I´ll see some of you all THIS year :D
hahaha woah. Also a crazy thing. I hit 6 months in the mission!!!
WHAT. THe time is going by suuuuuuuuuper fast!!!! I´m not sure how I
feel about that.

Wow so Summer finally hit here in south part of Brasil. HOLY cow HOT. But the great part is that I´m getting suuuper tan ;)

So
has anyone ever seen an avocado tree??!!! Me either until I moved to
this area that I´m at right now. There´s an avocado tree by our house,
and this week I decided to be ambitious and pick one. Well the only way
I was able to pick it was with a broom. It was pretty great actually. I
felt very proud of myself for being resourceful 😂 But anyways, this
week I picked an avocado with a broom!

Funny
story that happened while proselyting: We were talking to a woman in
the front of her house. Her son (about 7) and her father (about 95
hahaha) were a little ways behind her. Her son hopped on a chair, and
then the chair fell over. The womans father was pretty up there in
years. Imagine a hunched over grandpa, with white white hair, that
walks super slowly and with a cane. perfect. Okay now imagine this.
When the son fell off the chair, he immediately began to laugh and point
at him! It was the FUNNIEST thing. OH my heck we laughed and laughed
afterwards. So that was great :)

I got to spend a day with Sister Albertonti! That was fantastic!!!! TWO AMERICANS in Brasil. hahahaha it was awesome.

So here is really neat story my companion shared with me this week:

A
few years ago the state of Sao Paulo was in a super bad draught. It
hadn´t rained for 4 months and the 4 huge water storages for the city of
sao paulo were almost empty. Kind of a huge problem, because the city
of sau paulo is FULL of people.

The First
Presidency (the Prophet, and his 2 counselors) invited every member of
the church to fast for 24 hours, all on the same day, to have it rain.

It
happened to be on a Saturday and my companion was at Institute (a
program where young single adults of my church can meet, socialize, and
have sripture classes). Everyone ate a huge lunch together, and then
started fasting. Around 5 o´clock my companion siad they were all
sitting in a room, listening to the teacher wehn they heard the first
drops of rain. Then more and more and then it was POURING.

HOW
INCREDIBLE is this story??? The first time I´d heard about it was when
my companion was telling it to me this week. I am blown away by the
power of a faithful group of people. It´s the same principle of what
happened in the story of Esther. SHe asked her people to fast 3 days
with her, and they were saved. INCREDIBLE.

Folks,
I know God knows our needs. He knows us SO perfectly. He knows us and
He loves us. We just have to reach out to Him, show our faith, by doing
what He asks of us. And sometimes, that is by following the Prophet. I
know our Prophet Thomas S. Monson is TRULY inspired of God. I know he
will never lead us astray, and if we follow his guidance, we will always
be following God.

Well, I sure love you all. I may be here in Brasil, super far from all yall, but I don´t love you any less!

It hardly feels like it should be Christmas, to be honest, because well because Brasil is hot right now XD

BUT
so how about transfers!!! My new area is Fazendo Rio Grande!!!!!!!!!!!
(Big Farm River) It´s about 45 min from Curitiba! And the area is a
LOT less big, so it will be easier to learn the area and yaayayayay.
ALSO get this! We share a house with Sister Manhas and Sister
Albertoni, who I both already know!!! I lived with Sister Manhas in
Guarapuava, and Sister Albertoni was in my district in the MTC!!!! SO basically it´s a party every day ;)

So
last week I wrote about how challenges are good, and how we shouldn´t
run from them. Well, I think the Lord wanted to humble me a little bit
(or a lot). I was going to go to an area to "open it" after some
Elders were switched out, but an hour and a half before my bus left, the
APs (Assistants to the Mission President) called and said I´d be going
to Fazenda.

WHAT.

My
companion would be Sister Ferreira. She has been in the mission for 1
year and 2 months, and Fazenda two different times! She started her
mission here, and now she´s here again!

Not
gonna lie, I was super disappointed when I first heard. I was really
looking forward to a growing experience. BUT Heavenly Father always
always always always knows best and He inspired my mission president at
the last minute, and so here I am, in Fazendo Rio Grande!

And
let me tell yall, I am soooooooooo grateful. Sister Ferreira is
amazing. I swear every single lesson she teaches is 100% guided and
inspired by the Spirit. It´s incredible. From the first lesson we
taught together I know I was here to learn from her. This week has been a
very humbling week for me because I´m realizing HOW MUCH I STILL HAVE
TO LEARN and grow in the mission, in life etc. Missions are great
because you learn so easily how much you still have to grow 🤓

But,
I know Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us- everything that
happens has a purpose- may it be a lesson to learn, an experience to
have, someone to meet etc. But He has the whole picture, and as long as
we´re seeking His guidance, He won´t let us go astray.

So, I´m stoked for this transfer! I´m pretty positive I´ll only have one transfer with Sister Ferreira, but BRING IT ON :)

PICTURES!

Me and my new companion! And then Sister Albertoni ☺

Super cute Minion plant holders things!!!

And
this last picture of that girl from Ratatuii (or however it´s
spelled). We were having a meeting with the Ward Mission Leader and his
4 year old son came up to me and said, "voce com baton" or "You with
liptick." OMG it was sooooo funny!!!! Because I obviously have short
black hair, and then the fact that a 4 year old boy knows about
lipstick. 😂

Yesterday
we had a conference here in Guarapuava, and my Mission President came,
and interviewed all of us missionaries serving here! That was great :) I
really love my mission president and I hadn´t had an interview with him
since I got into the field (so almost 4.5 months!!!!!).

But
he told me that I will be transfered to an area close to Curitiba! I
still don´t know where exactly, or who my new companion will be... :(

Apparently
the area that I´ll be going to was an area of Elders that were very
"Fubeka." Meaning that they didn´t obey the rules. *sigh* So my mission
President is putting me there to "clean things up" so to speak. I´m
excited, and a little nervous! Because I´ll be "opening" the area so to
speak. Both my new companion and I won´t know the area, and we´ll
practically be starting from scratch, because the Elders there didn´t do
anything. So it´s going to be one BIG adventure!

But
I´m really excited to be honest. I love Guarapuava and I LOVE Sister
C. Silva, but I really want to grow spiritually. I want a challenges are
one of the best ways to grow- so here I goooooooooooooo.

Saying
goodbye to Elizandro and Paula, my recent converts here in Guarapuava,
was by far one of the hardest things so far on the mission. I love them
so sooo much, and it just kills my heart that I don´t know when I will
be able to see them again. *ahhhhhh* We all cried- including
Elizandro! It was a pretty special goodbye.

I´m not looking forward to saying goodbye to my companion later today....

BUT on a positive note, this week was great! It rained and rained and rained but it was good!

I´ve got lots and lots of photos to send this week!!

Last
pday my district FINALLY celebrated Thanksgiving XD It was sort of
Thanksgiving- the only thanksgiving ish food was the mashed potatoes and
pumpkin pie i brought XD but it was fun and good and we played games
and it was great! Also there´s one picture where an elder fell and I´m
sending it to you all so you can enjoy the looks on our faces ;P

Last
pday also, the us sisters had a gift exchange and that was really fun.
I got a super black and pink polka dot cup, which is perfect because I
love pink, polka dots, and i love drinking water XD

I
found a HUGE confederate flag at this store called the Ranch. I WAS
SUPER STOKED because yall I´m in Brasil, How often do you find a
confederate flag?!?!

us sisters had a service
project this last week! We helped a family here move! And it was my
first real service project so that was neat :)

There
are some pics of some people we have been teaching, and then my FAV
family here in Brasil- the family of Elizandro and Paula ❤

There´s
a church here that has a huge "Missao" in the lawn, and I took a
picture in front of it ahah. You might have to zoom to see!

And finally, a selfie of Sister C. Silva yesterday at church :)

But
I love you all LOTS and lots and lots! My spiritual thought this week
is to not run from challenges. Run toward them. Because challenges are
how we grow and progress :) And I know that Heavenly Father NEVER
gives us a challenge or trial that we can´t overcome.

I
hope everyone is well and happy! Anyone else can´t believe that today
is December 5th??? Maybe I´m more in doubt because here it´s warm, which
is super strange. Sometimes my companion says something like, "you know
Christmas is arriving because of the warm climate.." and I´m like
🤔what? hahah

But
this week went by super fast and nothing reallllllly exciting or
eventful happened. Last pday I learned how to make "cocada" a superrr
yummy coconut cookie! It takes a lot of time to make so most likely I
won´t make it until after I get back, but you all should look up a
recipe because seriously it´s sooo good.

One
day this week I thought to myself, "today I want to find a 4-leaf
clover." And then during the day we stopped for a second to take a
break, and I looked down at my feet and FOUND ONE!!!! How cool is
that??? Super sweet coincidence. But actually I think Heavenly Father
heard my thought and wanted to make my day 🙂

I´m
really excited because today my district is FINALLY going to celebrate
Thanksgiving!!! I made 2 pumpkin pies, so it´ll be great ;) hahaha

But
i´d like to share something that I learned this week during my district
meeting. My District Leader said something a little unusual, something
that I have never before thought about, BUT that I began to ponder a
ton this week and find it reallly important to recognize and so I want
to share it with you all!

He
said something like this, "everyday y ou all plan who you wilil teach,
where you will teach, and when you will teach. You all need to thing
about the fact that Satan also is planning every day how he can distrupt
your work. You all need to be prepared."

OKAY
yes this is a very unusual statement right? And a little bit
disturbing- well not disturbing but I can´t think of a better word.

His
statement was directed to us missionaries, but the same principle can
be applied to all of us- every day WE absolutely must be prepared or
Satan will try and influence us to try and make the wrong choice, and
the wrong choice always always always leads to unhappiness. I don´t
want you all to be unhappy, I want you all to be HAPPY and JOYFUL :)
And so does Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

So
what can we do to be prepared? We can pray for help. Imagine if
everyone in the world as soon as they woke up, knelt down on their knees
and offered a prayer to Heavenly Father- asking Him for help and
strength for that day. How much better would this world be? How much
more joyful and happy??

As
a missionary, I pray a TON. Because the work that I am doing is soo
special and sacred to the Lord, and I want to give Him my ALL. I know
that you all can pray and give Heavenly Father your all as well! And as
you do, He will protect you.

I
love each one of you who is reading this (and those who aren´t as
well 😉). I want you all to have the best day, week and lives possible!
And I know that is only possible through Jesus Christ.

So this week, smile a little more, pray a little more, and love Christ and Heavenly Father a whole lot MORE ❤

This
week I didn´t get to celebrate Thanksgiving, but it was great
nonetheless! I think my District is going to have a "thanksgiving lunch"
next week so I´m super pumped about that!

My
week started out in Curitiba and that was great because I got to
receive letters!!! Woooohoooo :) That was wonderful, keep on writing ;p

One
of the members in the Guarapuava Branch here needed my help one day
translating some instructions for a metal detector into Portuguese.
It´s pretty funny because he´s around 70 and wants to search for gold.
haha I think I´ll do that too when I´m 70 years old. Sounds like a
great past time! But after I tried to help him he brought out some old
money that Brasil no longer uses. And we were flipping through it and
all of a sudden we saw one that had been drawn on. You know how little
kids like to draw faces on the people? Well HE HAD DONE THAT TOO! AND
IT WAS HILARIOUS and I literally couldn´t stop laughing for 5 minutes. I
was imagining this cute little old man drawing on the faces of people
on money. Super super super funny.

SO
THIS WEEK WE MISSIONARIES HAD AN ACTIVITY with our Branch!!! IT WAS
AMAZING. I´ll explain why. So we had 4 Sisters, and 2 Elders. And we
put on a play for the members. Here´s the run down of the play.

Two
Angels (the missionaries) are up in Heaven and realize they have a
phone call to make to two girls down on Earth. They call and say that
Christ will visit their house that afternoon.

The two girls´house is completely a wreck, and they rush to clean things up.

In
the mean time different people knock on their door asking for help. A
pregnant lady (meeeee haha), a person asking for money (Sister C.
Silva), Missionaries (us HA), a person who just wrecked their car (me
again), visiting teachers (us), people ready for a service project (us
again), and a crazy old lady (Sister C. Silva).

Every time someone knocks on their door, the two girls reject them because they are "preparing for Jesus."

When
their house is clean, the angels call again and inform them that Jesus
visited their house numerous times in the form of people seeking help,
but they never accepted him.

So
the message was that we need to serve others more, and realize that
when we serve we are actually serving Christ. We then showed the new
Christmas video from the church and it was INCREDIBLE.

I´ll talk more about the video later..

But
first I want to share something I learned from Church yesterday :)
There was a story told from a talk (I don´t remember who or when). It
went something like this: there was an old man who was suffering greatly
from pain, and one day his young grandson came to visit and saw him suffering. The grandson said, "If I love you more, will you suffer
less??" This question was then applied to US and the SAVIOR. If we
love the Savior more, will He have suffered less?

What do you all think? I think yes!

Because
when we love the Savior, we have the desire to follow His perfect
example. We have the desire to repent daily. We have the desire to be better- to obey the commandants, obey His teachings, pray, read the scriptures... etc.

And
what is the consequence of all of these actions? Slowly and surely our
bad habits, bad actions, bad desires begin to diminish and are replaced
by righteous ones- we begin to become more like Christ; this as a result
causes two things:

1. Christ suffered less,

2. We also suffer less

I
am so grateful for Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the sacrifice He
made for me, and for each of you. He suffered for each of us,
individually, so that we might suffer less.

This Christmas, the Church has produced an activity for us to do to REALLY feel the Spirit of Christmas.

It´s called "Light the World." It begins on December 1 and ends Christmas! Here is the link https://www.mormon.org/

Every day has a theme and various activities for us to do to be more like Christ, do as He did, and enjoy Christmas more fully!

I
promise it is inspired. And I´m so excited to participate and I
encourage all of you to visit the site and learn about how YOU can
participate as well :D